New Mexico became the fourth state in the country—and the first non-West Coast state—to enact a clean fuel standard yesterday when Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the law that BIO worked on for four years.
The Clean Transportation Fuels Standard establishes benchmarks to reduce carbon intensity of transportation fuels by 20% before 2030 and 30% before 2040. It also offers credits to producers to incentivize production of lower-emission fuels.
The law’s market-based approach rewards entities that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by producing and importing clean fuels in New Mexico.
Why it matters: Reducing GHGs and other air pollutants helps mitigate climate change and support the health of New Mexicans. The law encourages biotech and other technologies to reduce New Mexico’s transportation emissions by 18.5 million metric tons, says Gene Harrington, BIO’s Senior Director of State Government Affairs, Agriculture & Environment.
Economic impact: The law will create 1,600 full-time jobs and 2,300 construction jobs while attracting $240 million in investment in production in New Mexico, Gov. Grisham says.
Nationwide trend: Existing clean fuel standards in California, Oregon, and Washington have displaced billions of gallons of fossil fuels and reduced millions of tons of GHGs. Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania are considering clean fuel standards.
BIO’s view: “This legislation can diversify New Mexico’s economy, protect the environment, combat climate change, and establish New Mexico’s leadership in a national transition to clean fuels,” says Harrington.
